Since childhood, Jim has always been drawn to woodworking and has continued to pursue his interest through collage and into his 30 year career. Jim grew up on the North Shore of Chicago and attended New Trier High School. He then went on to college at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, MI where he studied Woodworking and Furniture Design.

His first job was in furniture repair, which quickly lead to a career in restoration & conservation of museum quality antiques. Leveraging this experience and learning many things from the design to the construction of furniture & cabinets, Jim started his own business, Van Cleave Woodworking, in Evanston, IL where his specialty was making reproductions of antiques & custom pieces.

In 2016, Jim sold his business and joined Burmeister, where he has continued to hone his cabinetry and woodworking design skills and turned his focus more specifically to client support and project management. Jim’s passion is to understand the needs of his clients and help them bring their dreams to life through the craft of woodworking and design.

Jim offices in Burmeister’s Design Center in Northbrook, IL, where he lives with his wife of 29 years. They have 2 boys who live in Denver CO. Jim is an avid downhill skier and golfer.